The poor in America have cell phones, TV’s, computers and microwaves – Guess we don’t need a super-minimum wage?

We’ve come a long way baby!

We at the Libertarian Republic have always been believers in free market capitalism. Of course no system is perfect, but we don’t live in a perfect world. The spontaneous order provided by free markets is what generates wealth and excess. That wealth then becomes devalued, simply for having come to abundance. When abundance comes and prices of wealth are lowered, more people can afford the good things in life… and that’s exactly what Americans are getting.

A recent census by the US Government has revealed that even the poor in America lead a lifestyle far better off than anywhere else. 80.9 percent of households below the poverty level have cell phones, and 58.2% have computers. 96.1 percent have a television, 97% have a fridge and 93% have a microwave. This is a standard lifestyle for an American in “poverty”.

But socialists still complain!

Luckily there’s been some pushback. Today Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed a bill that would have required big box retailers like Wal-Mart to pay a super-minimum wage of 12.50 an hour in wages, more than 50 percent above the current minimum wage. The D.C. council approved the bill but the mayor decided to veto. The council will attempt to override but will reportedly face an uphill battle.

The bill is vindictive in that it targets certain sets of employers, thereby “picking winners and losers”. So Wal-Mart would be targeted but Safeway would not, because Safeway is unionized and the bill exempts union shops. Now it looks as if those union employees will face competition if Wal-Mart is finally allowed to come in and compete.

Russia Today hosted a debate on this issue a few weeks ago featuring TLR editor Austin Petersen. In it we debate the issue of the super-minimum wage and whether we are experiencing a “McDonaldization” of our economy. Now with the revelations from the census data and the victory for free markets in D.C., it makes this debate even more relevant.

The bill only affects a certain set of employers. First, they must have at least $1 billion of annual sales and operate stores with at least 75,000 square feet.  Second, employers whose workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements are exempt.  What these conditions mean is that Wal-Mart is affected, but another, large D.C. employer, Safeway Stores, which has more than $40 billion in annual sales, is exempt because its workers are unionized.

Can employment be considered “McDonaldization”?